The Movie

Chapter 2

A knock on the door interrupted the blissful calm that had finally prevailed at chez Snyder and Oliver. Reid stared at the door, debating whether he wanted to bother with the disruption or pretend no one was home and let them leave a note.

His decision was made for him when Ethan tore past him and looked through the peephole. Swinging the door open, Ethan called out, a bit too enthusiastically, “Noah, Mark, it’s great to see you guys!”

“Shit.” It didn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out what his nearly thirteen year old kid was up to.

Following Ethan, Mark and Noah made their way into the living room. Both men looked around, clearly feeling uncomfortable.

Despite his determination to avoid all things pertaining to proper etiquette, Reid stood up as the three entered. “Have a seat.” Glaring at Ethan, Reid continued. “This is certainly a surprise.”

Mark and Noah sat next to one another on the sofa. Looking up at Reid, Mark scanned the room. “Luke’s not home?”

“Luke is most definitely home. I think that’s what his brother had in mind when he called you, if I’m not jumping to conclusions.”

“Reid, what the hell are you talking about? Ethan called, relaying a message from Luke. He told us his brother was heading into the shower and had asked Ethan to call and see if we could come over for lunch.” Mark looked from Reid to Noah to Ethan. “Damn. We were set up by a middle-schooler.”

“You were set up by a middle-schooler who isn’t going to have any intimate time with his skateboard for two weeks.” Reid sat on the arm chair closest to the sofa. “Look, I know why he invited you, and you’re both more than welcome to join us for lunch -- let’s face it, we keep a well-stocked refrigerator. Between feeding a growing boy and a predatory, chow-hound doctor, we try not to let things get low in the edible supplies department.”

Walking into the living room, Luke stopped and stared at the little group. “Noah, what are you doing here? Didn’t we talk enough this morning, and yesterday, and the day before that?”

Quickly approaching his partner, Reid cupped Luke’s cheek, instantly getting a sigh as a reaction. “Take it a peg down, Rocky. No reason to come out fighting. Ethan invited them. I think it’s his way of getting you and Noah to reach some sort of truce before things get out of hand.”

Luke looked around. “You’ll have to excuse me. I have to find my little brother and kill him.”

Trying to keep from smiling too broadly, Reid gently kissed Luke on the lips. “He meant well, and since we all know you’re not really a Grimaldi in any way, you can start easing off the death threats. Snyders don’t kill; they just ride off into the sunset on their trusty stallions.”

Luke laughed, as did their guests. “Okay. I won’t kill or maim Ethan, but this is extremely awkward.”

“It’s only awkward because you and Noah have been behaving like the two idiots I met almost nine years ago. You may be speaking to one another, but you sure as hell aren’t communicating... at all. It’s been a long time. Don’t you two think it’s time you faced your past honestly?”

“And completely,” Mark added. Reid was convinced that whatever he was witnessing, Mark was getting the same at their place. “You two broke up, but when you decided to really make a go at being friends you forgot to clear the air first. History has a habit of coming back to haunt you if you don’t learn from it.”

Biting his lip, Luke looked at Reid. “I’m afraid of reliving all that again. There was so much hurt, so much pain.”

Giving Luke a hug, Reid whispered into his ear, “It sounds like you two need a couple’s therapist.”

Luke huffed. “It might be easier to do this with a witness. Maybe someone who’s been around a while to make sure we both get the story right. Someone I trust.”

“Whoa. Hold on. I have no intention of acting as mediator for this battle of bad memories.”

Noah looked at Reid. “It’s not a bad idea, but you would act more as witness, rather than mediator.” He turned to Mark and held his hand. “I’d like you here too, for moral support.”

“Are you sure you want Mark to hear about our not-so-pleasant past?” Luke looked pointedly at Noah.

“Probably not, but I’d rather he knows about all of me before we get married.” Noah squeezed Mark’s hand. “You may change your mind about me.”

“Noah.” Mark ran his free hand over Noah’s hair. “I never thought you were perfect, and from the stories I’ve been privy to during the past few months, I’m not sure anything said here would surprise me.”

“I love you, Mark.”

“Good thing, since you suckered me into committing to a stereotypical Valentine’s Day wedding. I’d hate to think it was just for the theatrics of the event.”

Noah wrapped his arms around Mark. While Reid thought it was all a bit cheesy, he was comfortable with acting as witness alongside his friend, in the verbal duel between Noah and Luke. He’d heard a lot of the story in bits and pieces over the years, but clearly, as they ventured forward with the movie, the two had been dwelling more on fault, rather than putting the past to bed. He’d known working together again at WOAK might stir up some crap since that’s where their ill-fated relationship began. Although he was tempted, Reid refrained from any I told you so’s.

Calling from the living room, Luke summoned his brother. “Ethan.”

The kid came in, head down and ready to be scolded. “Am I in big trouble?”

“That depends.”

He raised his head slowly, making eye contact with Luke. “On what?”

“On whether you can spend the rest of the day with Katie. Call and see if you can hang out with Jacob. You can let Katie know, Noah and I are going to try and work out some artistic differences.”

“So my plan worked?”

Reid put an arm around Ethan’s shoulder. “That, kiddo, remains to be seen.”

[TBC]

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